Cleveland Police have confirmed that the 73-year-old died in James Cook University Hospital over the weekend.

Assistant Chief Constable Sean White of Cleveland Police issued a statement today in the wake of her death.

He said: “Our thoughts are with family members, relatives and friends who will be distraught at this sad news. Members of Cleveland Police share the grief that is felt and we all wish to express our sincerest condolences to the family.

“The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has been updated and will make a decision on how the incident should be investigated. We are providing the highest level of co-operation to the IPCC and seeking to support the family where it is possible to do so.

“The police dog involved has been withdrawn from operational policing activities and support is being provided to the police officer who was handling the dog at the time of the event.

“We are committed to learning any lessons that may arise from the investigation and the daily use of police dogs remains operationally important in reducing crime and disorder and protecting the public. Our dogs are trained and licensed for use in accordance with national police guidance.”

A family spokesperson said: “We would like to thank people for their kind messages. We are devastated. We ask the media to please respect our right to privacy and allow us to grieve in private. We do not wish to say anything further at this stage.”

Comments (13)

There are many reported incidents of Police dogs attacking people who have no involvement in the crime taking place. It is not an uncommon story sadly.

This dog should be destroyed just like any other animal.

My sincerest condolences to the family of the lady concerned.
There are many reported incidents of Police dogs attacking people who have no involvement in the crime taking place. It is not an uncommon story sadly.
This dog should be destroyed just like any other animal.johnny_p

Please folks, even now Cleveland police is messing with peoples heads, Sean White retires in the next few months, that's why there using him as their spokesperson, he DOES NOT CARE A HOOT, trust me, i've been on the other half of his rath.
As for the police dog, this is not the first member of the public its bitten.

Please folks, even now Cleveland police is messing with peoples heads, Sean White retires in the next few months, that's why there using him as their spokesperson, he DOES NOT CARE A HOOT, trust me, i've been on the other half of his rath.
As for the police dog, this is not the first member of the public its bitten.NO EINSTEIN

"Withdrawn from operational policing activities"? If it belonged to anyone else they would have already euthenased the wretched beast. It is obviously a very dangerous animal, and should be put down to protect the public, not just "withdrawn from operational policing activities".

"Withdrawn from operational policing activities"? If it belonged to anyone else they would have already euthenased the wretched beast. It is obviously a very dangerous animal, and should be put down to protect the public, not just "withdrawn from operational policing activities".Libertarian Party (North)

Such a sad story and my heart goes out to the dear ladies family, but until we know the full story I don't think it's right that people call the dog wretched beast etc and it should be destroyed any police dog is an animal trained to bring down criminals and unfortunately we don't live in a perfect world, sometimes things don't go to plan, I think the dog should be withdrawn from police activities but not sure it should be destroyed who knows how many actual criminals it has helped to bring to justice

Such a sad story and my heart goes out to the dear ladies family, but until we know the full story I don't think it's right that people call the dog wretched beast etc and it should be destroyed any police dog is an animal trained to bring down criminals and unfortunately we don't live in a perfect world, sometimes things don't go to plan, I think the dog should be withdrawn from police activities but not sure it should be destroyed who knows how many actual criminals it has helped to bring to justicemaclaren

Triglet wrote:
So Who is accountable / responsible or is it another internal investigation like the 140 mph plod delivering a prisoner to Darlo . My thoughts are with the family.

Obviously the dog handler is accountable/responsi
ble but is it not a tragic accident do you really think her or she intended this to happen, I think there needs to be an enquiry to try to prevent such a thing happening again but this is incident is a tragic ACCIDENT

[quote][p][bold]Triglet[/bold] wrote:
So Who is accountable / responsible or is it another internal investigation like the 140 mph plod delivering a prisoner to Darlo . My thoughts are with the family.[/p][/quote]Obviously the dog handler is accountable/responsi
ble but is it not a tragic accident do you really think her or she intended this to happen, I think there needs to be an enquiry to try to prevent such a thing happening again but this is incident is a tragic ACCIDENTmaclaren

How did the police allow this to happen knowing this person was old & allowing the dog to run free,leaving the doors open,these dogs are not pets,so it should not have happeded,the dog must be put down like any other which has attacked the public with out cause to which this dog did;;

How did the police allow this to happen knowing this person was old & allowing the dog to run free,leaving the doors open,these dogs are not pets,so it should not have happeded,the dog must be put down like any other which has attacked the public with out cause to which this dog did;;mallymole

Firstly, this is a terrible tragedy and my thoughts are with this lady's family.

I note from what has been said already that the police are on the defensive i.e. how upset the officer is, the lady had health problems etc. To cut a long story short, the police (officer/force) owed a duty of care to this lady and no matter what her health problems were (you take your victim as you find them), she should not have been put in harms way. The officer will have known what the dog was capable of and should have taken steps to ensure it did not come into contact with an innocent party.

I think the police need to review the use of general purpose police dogs - benefits versus the risks as there have been numerous instances where innocent people, including other police officers, have been injured. Tragically, we now have a fatality.

Firstly, this is a terrible tragedy and my thoughts are with this lady's family.
I note from what has been said already that the police are on the defensive i.e. how upset the officer is, the lady had health problems etc. To cut a long story short, the police (officer/force) owed a duty of care to this lady and no matter what her health problems were (you take your victim as you find them), she should not have been put in harms way. The officer will have known what the dog was capable of and should have taken steps to ensure it did not come into contact with an innocent party.
I think the police need to review the use of general purpose police dogs - benefits versus the risks as there have been numerous instances where innocent people, including other police officers, have been injured. Tragically, we now have a fatality.Charlie Bradley

Triglet wrote:
So Who is accountable / responsible or is it another internal investigation like the 140 mph plod delivering a prisoner to Darlo . My thoughts are with the family.

The Police are unaccountable. The "Independent" Police Complaints Commission is anything but. They will carry out a thorough internal investigation, and then report no findings. Nothing will change, nor be acted upon.

And why hasn't this dog been destroyed yet? It is a dangerous animal, and its handler failed to control it properly.

[quote][p][bold]Triglet[/bold] wrote:
So Who is accountable / responsible or is it another internal investigation like the 140 mph plod delivering a prisoner to Darlo . My thoughts are with the family.[/p][/quote]The Police are unaccountable. The "Independent" Police Complaints Commission is anything but. They will carry out a thorough internal investigation, and then report no findings. Nothing will change, nor be acted upon.
And why hasn't this dog been destroyed yet? It is a dangerous animal, and its handler failed to control it properly.johnny_p

Charlie Bradley wrote:
Firstly, this is a terrible tragedy and my thoughts are with this lady's family.

I note from what has been said already that the police are on the defensive i.e. how upset the officer is, the lady had health problems etc. To cut a long story short, the police (officer/force) owed a duty of care to this lady and no matter what her health problems were (you take your victim as you find them), she should not have been put in harms way. The officer will have known what the dog was capable of and should have taken steps to ensure it did not come into contact with an innocent party.

I think the police need to review the use of general purpose police dogs - benefits versus the risks as there have been numerous instances where innocent people, including other police officers, have been injured. Tragically, we now have a fatality.

The Police are little more than a silly little boy's club who, as expected in this incident are very quickly closing ranks and getting their stories together. And nor do I think it is appropriate for them to mention that "support is being provided to the police officer who was handling the dog at the time of the event". Bless.

They repeatedly fail the general public who they are supposed to represent. You only need to watch these Police "traffic cop" documentaries. The Police seem to view the taxpaying public (who pay their wages) as idiots who they can patronise and be condescending to.

Enough.

[quote][p][bold]Charlie Bradley[/bold] wrote:
Firstly, this is a terrible tragedy and my thoughts are with this lady's family.
I note from what has been said already that the police are on the defensive i.e. how upset the officer is, the lady had health problems etc. To cut a long story short, the police (officer/force) owed a duty of care to this lady and no matter what her health problems were (you take your victim as you find them), she should not have been put in harms way. The officer will have known what the dog was capable of and should have taken steps to ensure it did not come into contact with an innocent party.
I think the police need to review the use of general purpose police dogs - benefits versus the risks as there have been numerous instances where innocent people, including other police officers, have been injured. Tragically, we now have a fatality.[/p][/quote]The Police are little more than a silly little boy's club who, as expected in this incident are very quickly closing ranks and getting their stories together. And nor do I think it is appropriate for them to mention that "support is being provided to the police officer who was handling the dog at the time of the event". Bless.
They repeatedly fail the general public who they are supposed to represent. You only need to watch these Police "traffic cop" documentaries. The Police seem to view the taxpaying public (who pay their wages) as idiots who they can patronise and be condescending to.
Enough.johnny_p

all you morons calling for the dog to be destroyed reel your necks in, at the end of the day a police dog is trained to be agressive and can only act how it is taught it cant be accountable for its actions but the handler can.

all you morons calling for the dog to be destroyed reel your necks in, at the end of the day a police dog is trained to be agressive and can only act how it is taught it cant be accountable for its actions but the handler can.kevvccee